Handmade Holidays

October 4th, 2008 by Kiba | Posted in General Craft | 2 Comments »

While a DIY wedding is cheaper than the other kind, it still is far from free.  So I’m looking to save some money any way I can.  Part of this means is that I’m going handmade for multiple holidays.

Halloween: I am being Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd (the movie version) for Halloween.  I already had the corset, skirt, and boots.  I’m making the gloves.  I bought a shirt at Goodwill which I will need to embellish.  I bought some stripey stockings at a local vintage thrift store.  By the time I’m done with the whole thing, I predict I’ll have a rockin’ costume for under $20.  (OG’s Sweeney Todd costume, on the other hand, is looking to be more in the $40 - $60 range, but that’s because we bought him a licensed replica of the razor and will be purchasing a vest that he can also wear on non-costumey days.  And a wig.)  I’m throwing a Sweeney Todd-themed party, and plan to make my own meatless meat pies (yay vegetarian meat substitutes!), and 

Wintry Gift-Giving: Pretty much my people call it Christmas, but I think it’s just shorthand.  My nearest and dearest range from the very churchy to the adamantly opposed to church.  I tend to be rather spendy on them this time of year; my gift-giving budget is usually around $400, $200 of which is spent on family and $200 on OG.  This year, I’ve already cut that down to about $250.  And yet, I’m looking to cut it even more.  One of my favorite gifts from last year is a bowl my sister hand-painted with a manatee and a mermaid and water and green swirls.  This has led me to think that maybe other people also would be okay with a hand-made gift.  I always feel silly giving people things I’ve made; I feel like it looks poorly constructed and like a little kid did it.  But I’m going to try it this year and see how it works out for me.  And my hope is that anything I can’t make, I can buy on Etsy or somesuch.  I fully intend to take the Handmade Pledge.

How about you?  Will you be giving any handmade gifts, or making yourself a costume?

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Decor: Looking at the House with Fresh Eyes

September 28th, 2008 by Kiba | Posted in Design | 3 Comments »

We had company over both Friday and Saturday nights this weekend.  I live here, so I take everything in the house for granted, of course.  But my best friend asked for a tour, and so I showed her the whole place.  (Even my office/craft/music room which is woefully messy and undecorated.)  She said to me, “Your house is so grown up!”  Walking around with her, I began to see how very carefully OG (Opera Ghost) and I have decorated the house.  Our bedroom is incredible.  He had expected to show people around, so he had the table lamps on.  The details of the room really stood out to me: the print over the bed, the careful mixing of many different shades of green, the two beautiful antique jewelry storage pieces on my vanity…  It looked so done.  And it was as though I were seeing it with someone else’s eyes, because mine are so used to it.

When our other friends came to visit, one of them said, “It looks like you’ve really thought about how you want it to look.”  Which we have, at great length.  

The house is not quite “finished” - although all the decorating resources I’ve read agree that you never actually want it to be finished - but we are very close, and it’s a good feeling.  It’s nice now to be able to spend time in it and see what others have seen.

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DIY Wedding!

September 13th, 2008 by Kiba | Posted in General Craft, Wedding Crafting | 3 Comments »

I got engaged two weeks ago, and so thoughts of wedding planning have been spinning through my head ever since.  I am going to have a rather DIY/handmade by others wedding.

Plans/hopes thus far:

1. My mom will make my dress and the dress for my sister, who will be my only attendant.

2. I will make our hair accessories: a shell clip for me, a leafy sea dragon barrette for her.  (Beach wedding!)

3. Instead of real bouquets, we will have clay flowers, either made by me or purchased from DK Designs.

4. My best friend will be our photographer.  She is phenomenal.  

5. If she’s willing, we’ll ask her SO to make cupcakes for the party we have when we get back home.  Of course, that’s a lot of cupcakes, so she might not want to.

6. I will use techniques learned from DIY Bride to make my own party invitations.

One of my colleagues is a wedding planner, and also attends many weddings of friends.  She said that her favorites are the ones where the couple’s personality really shines through.

That is definitely what I want.  No industrial complex wedding for me, thank you.

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My Latest Project: Whedoncraft

July 31st, 2008 by Kiba | Posted in Crochet, Geeky Crochet, General Craft | 1 Comment »

So I have at last united two of my greatest loves: crochet (and craft in general) and Joss Whedon (oh my husvand!)  Take a look at my new blog, Whedoncraft.  It’s great fun.  And I hope that it will lead to some other projects of mine coming to fruition sooner than originally intended, as well.

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Let’s help Kim Werker interview Joss Whedon!

July 21st, 2008 by Kiba | Posted in Crochet, Geeky Crochet, Interviews | No Comments »

If you look up in the address bar you’ll see that the actual address of the blog is http://jossisahottie.com/kibathediva.  That’s because Joss Whedon has a brilliant imagination, which inspired me to start a website called Joss Is A Hottie.  And that was my first domain name, and all my other domains just point somewhere in there.  It’s silly, and fun.

In a recent interview with WIRED, Joss said regarding his internet musical Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, “Fact is, there’s been some buzz, but it hasn’t reached the places it would normally. Where’s our write-up in Crocheting Monthly? (I did a very sexy shoot for that one.)”

Kim Werker, editor of Crochetme.com and Interweave Crochet, wants to fix this problem by interviewing Joss.  Go read her post at Crochet Me for more information on how you can help her to achieve her dream.

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I have no gall(bladder).

July 16th, 2008 by Kiba | Posted in General Craft | No Comments »

A little more than six months ago, I mentioned that if I Heart Guts came out with a gall bladder plushie, I may have to get one.  Lo and behold, the adorable gall bladder:

Plushie Gallbladder

When they took out my gallbladder, I told my brother that they replaced it with a saltwater shark tank.  I don’t know why I said this.  I must have still been on the oxycodone.  (He really likes sharks.  He’s almost 14, and is on the autism spectrum, and acts like he’s about 10.  At the time he was 12 and acted like he was 8.)

I think I’d rather have this.  $16.  When I’m done unpacking, I will get it for myself as a reward and give it a place of honor in my office/guest bedroom/craft room/music room.  (I have one room that serves all those purposes.)

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Intersections: Design/Craft

June 26th, 2008 by Kiba | Posted in Design | 1 Comment »

I’m moving into a new place (almost done!) and so decorating has been on my mind a lot.  I see a lot of intersections between decorating and craft in the blogosphere, and so I’ve sort of filed these things in the same part of my brain.  Fashion has now joined them.  As such, you may expect more decorating and fashion content here at kibathediva.net than you’ve seen so far.

The man person (we’ll call him Opera Ghost or OG from here on out) does not like for people to see unfinished spaces.  We’re actually going to have some people coming over for a play rehearsal on Saturday and he’s a bit displeased that the living room won’t be done, even though he probably won’t even be here.  Anyway, so while I would love to show you before and afters on the whole house, I’m going to respect his wishes and let that go.  Afters only it will be.  The one room where I can show you before pictures is my office/craft/music room.  And that I will be doing, so you can see how a room full of ridiculous clutter becomes a fabulous haven of inspiration.  At least, I hope that’s what will happen.

A new obsession with organization is part of this whole process, so allow me to point you over to Library Pendragon.  This blog belongs to a friend of mine from high school, and I’m really looking forward to reading what she has to say.

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Geeky Crochet #16: Polyhedrals (and bonus! a Beholder)

June 21st, 2008 by Kiba | Posted in Crochet, Geeky Crochet | 1 Comment »

If you thought all of my video game posts were geeky, just get a load of today’s post.  Yes, friends, today, we venture into the place where crochet and role playing games - of the Dungeons and Dragons ilk - intersect.

First up are these polyhedrals - many sided dice - designed by Peasie.

These babies actually work.  You can roll them.  Peasie provides patterns for the d4 and d6 here and the d8 and d20 here.  You can also, if you are, say, an irritated DM, throw them at distracted players without the risk of hurting them too much.  Unlike brushed steel dice, for example, which will dent your dining table if you roll them without something to absorb the shock.

Back in the Imbolc 2008 issue of The AntiCraft, Leah B. published her Shoulder Beholder pattern.  The Beholder is, for the uninitiated, one of the fiercest monsters you can face playing Dungeons & Dragons.  Kathy over at spinster in training made one for her husband Greg for Valentine’s Day.  I saw it in person, and it is a thing of beauty.  She made some slight modifications to the pattern; I forget why.  Maybe to make it look more like the actual Beholder in the Monsters Manual?  Anyway - if you have a D&D nerd friend, make her this Beholder.  She will love it.

That’s Kathy’s beholder, there.  Or Greg’s, rather.  That Kathy made.

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Geeky Crochet #15: Slime from Dragon Warrior

June 20th, 2008 by Kiba | Posted in Crochet, Geeky Crochet | No Comments »

I came late to the video game scene, playing classics like Dragon Warrior much more than 10 years after their release.  I remember, lo those 8 or 9 years ago, my brother watching me play.  He was 5 or 6 at the time.  He would get so excited every time a Slime approached.  I myself was trying to come up with geeky things I could crochet/design, and the slime occurred to me.  Over at Shh, I’m counting!, however, Marte has done a much better job than I ever could.

So brilliant!  Check out Marte’s excellent pattern for this Super Mario Invincibility Star while you’re there.

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Geeky Crochet #14: Rock Band Drum Kit Cozies

June 19th, 2008 by Kiba | Posted in Crochet, Etsy, Geeky Crochet | No Comments »

Rock Band is going to be released for the Nintendo Wii next week, and I am going to buy it as soon as I am done moving. Apparently, though, the drum set can make quite a ruckus. FunkieFresh over at etsy has a brilliant solution: cover your drum kit with yarn!

You can purchase these for your Xbox on Etsy for $40. I will probably make my own, in case the Wii set up is any different.

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